THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you all very much. And
thank you, Sheila. I appreciate the introduction.

It's a pleasure to be here today and to see some of my old friends
from the Ford years. One of them, of course, is your featured speaker,
David Gergen, with whom I worked very closely during my time on the
Ford staff. It's not commonly known, but many years earlier David and
I had been classmates at Yale, up until the time I dropped out --
actually, dropped out isn't quite accurate, it would be more like
"asked to leave." Twice. (Laughter.) David, of course, went on to
graduate. And he has recently showed us what so often happens to those
who excel at Yale; they go on to teach at Harvard. (Laughter.)

My former boss and mentor, President Ford, asked me to be here in
his place and I'm honored to do so. The President and I have kept in
touch over the years, and, in fact, we're planning to get together this
summer on a couple of occasions. As Sheila mentioned, he's only a
month away from his 91st birthday, and he's doing very well. We spoke
on the phone the other day, and I know that he is watching today.
President Ford asked me to give his warmest congratulations to the
honorees, as well as personal greetings to everyone gathered at what's
become an annual event. I also want to bring greetings from Betty, who
was an outstanding first lady and who remains one of the most admired
women in America.

Of course, President and Mrs. Ford are thinking today, as are we
all, of President Reagan, who left us on Saturday. This is a sad time
for the nation, and more especially, for Mrs. Reagan, who has shown
grace beyond compare. The Fords and the Reagans had a warm friendship,
and I know that right now Betty and Jerry Ford are feeling great
sympathy and love for Nancy Reagan.

As many of us here remember, Presidents Ford and Reagan were once
political rivals and competitors, but grew close over time. It was
first discovered that they had actually encountered each other at a
distance during an Iowa-Michigan football game. Jerry Ford was on the
field playing center for the University of Michigan, and Ronald Reagan
was broadcasting for radio station WHO in 1934. A lifetime afterwards,
it would be President Reagan who dedicated the Gerald R. Ford Museum in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, a proud day on which President Reagan expressed
the nation's gratitude to Gerald Ford for leading America as "a man of
decency, a man of honor, and a man of healing." Though it hardly seems
possible, the ninth of August will be the 30th anniversary of Gerald
Ford's taking the oath of office as President of the United States. In
the space of only ten months, the gentleman from Michigan had risen
from the House of Representatives to the vice presidency and then to
the presidency itself. He never aspired to that office, and he
maintained his modesty the entire time. He used to joke that with him
around, the Marine Band did not know whether they should play "Hail to
the Chief" or "You've Come a Long Way, Baby." (Laughter.)

But we all remember the turmoil of that time, and the challenges
that faced our government in the aftermath of Watergate. We remember
as well the character of the man who led our nation safely through a
very dark period. America was in a desperate need of strength, and
wisdom, and good judgment, and all of these came to us in the
unassuming person of Gerald R. Ford. Calm and civil, forgiving and
generous of spirit, our 38th President brought the nation together and
restored the dignity of that tainted office. President Gerald Ford met
his moment as well as any man could ever hope to do, and for that, he
has earned the permanent gratitude and the respect and the affection of
the American people.

It is most fitting that the good name of Gerald R. Ford be attached
to prizes for distinguished reporting on the presidency and national
defense. The Gerald R. Ford Foundation has made this presentation each
year since 1988, and in that time the prize has gone to some of the
most highly regarded journalists in the country. Not surprisingly,
there's plenty of competition, and the judges have a difficult task.